North Dakota · LienGuardAI

General information, not legal advice. Confirm current fees, forms, and deadlines on official government sites, and talk to an attorney about your situation. LienGuardAI does not file anything for you. See Legal Disclaimer & Terms of Use.

Relevant case law: After a North Dakota federal judge refused to dismiss a firearms case, the defendant filed a UCC-1 financing statement listing that judge and the acting U.S. Attorney as $3.4 million “debtors,” with himself as the secured party. The statement was accepted electronically into D.C. public records with no pre-review. A jury convicted him and a co-defendant of filing and conspiring to file false liens against federal officials. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, rejecting the argument that the crime requires a technically perfect UCC lien — bogus filings meant to harass still count. Verified. (United States v. Reed, 668 F.3d 978 (8th Cir. 2012).) Decades earlier, after an IRS audit in West Fargo, a taxpayer recorded “Common-law Liens” in Richland and Cass Counties against the homes of the district director, a group manager, and the examining agent, then filed a “Sheriff’s Posse Comitatus Common-law Great Charter” claiming a right to make warrantless arrests. The district court voided the liens and charter and enjoined further interference; the Eighth Circuit affirmed and sanctioned the frivolous appeal. Verified. (United States v. Hart, 545 F. Supp. 470 (D.N.D. 1982), aff'd, 701 F.2d 749 (8th Cir. 1983).)

This is a plain-language summary of a published judicial opinion, not a complete report of the case. Confirm names, holdings, and procedural posture against the opinion itself.

UCC financing statements

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Search North Dakota's UCC records

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Refusal / removal authority

North Dakota's §35-35-03 lets filing officers (including the Secretary of State) refuse nonconsensual common-law liens — that part is statutory. Debtor=secured party, transmitting-utility, and “invalid collateral” triggers are Secretary of State policy rather than statute, and current SoS model admin rules emphasize uniform UCC 9-516 refusal grounds.

Citations ND §35-35-03 ND SoS policy triggers not trea…

Full citations

N.D. Cent. Code §35-35-03
SoS policy triggers not treated as statute

Filing officers refuse nonconsensual common-law liens under §35-35-03; district-court show-cause tools appear in chapter 35-35. Uncodified office-policy triggers do not carry the weight of a statute.

If it's already filed: Notice of invalid lien / chapter 35-35 tools; UCC information statement / §41-09 remedies where Article 9 applies.

Real-property liens

Chapter 35-35 is the live NCCL scheme (not a forged-deed affidavit): filing officers may reject NCCLs; once accepted, they shall accept a no-fee Notice of Invalid Lien; owners may petition for show-cause; submitting an NCCL is a Class B misdemeanor with civil damages of the greater of $1,000 or actual plus fees.

Citations N.D. Cent. Code ch. 35-35

Full citations

N.D. Cent. Code ch. 35-35

Filing officers reject nonconsensual common-law liens at filing (§35-35-03(1)); for one already accepted, a Notice of Invalid Lien can be filed (§35-35-03(2)); district-court petitions under §35-35-04 (rejected filing) or §35-35-05 (already recorded) provide show-cause / void ab initio relief; damages under §35-35-06.

If it's already recorded: Notice of invalid lien; show-cause nullify; ≥$1,000 or actual damages + fees; Class B misdemeanor (§35-35-02).

Real-property records are held by the county recorder where the property sits.

Get notified before it happens

A free "property fraud alert" service is available in at least part of North Dakota — it emails or mails you whenever a document gets recorded against your name, so you find out right away instead of months later. Sign up for Cass County Property Fraud Alert →

North Dakota's largest county (Fargo).

If the path runs through court

North Dakota doesn't have a self-filed administrative form for this — the verified remedy runs through a court, which generally means an attorney rather than a fill-in-the-blank document.

District-Court Show-Cause for a Nonconsensual Common-Law Lien

Chapter 35-35 lets filing officers, including the Secretary of State, refuse an NCCL at the point of filing — but if one gets through, or you need it formally invalidated, the chapter also has a no-fee Notice of Invalid Lien path (§35-35-03(2)) and district-court show-cause procedures (§§35-35-04 / 35-35-05) with damages of the greater of $1,000 or actual plus fees. The "debtor=secured party / transmitting utility" triggers described elsewhere are uncodified office policy; only chapter 35-35's tools are statutory.

This generally requires an attorney. The show-cause procedure is a district-court filing, and chapter 35-35 also carries Class B misdemeanor exposure for the underlying conduct — both are matters for counsel rather than a self-filed form.

Citation N.D. Cent. Code ch. 35-35

People consulting an attorney about a filing like this often bring:

A copy of the filing, if available, and where and when it was filed or recorded (office, date, and document or instrument number)
Any notices, letters, or other correspondence about it
Records for the property or account it names, such as a deed, title, or loan papers
Notes on any contact with the filer or the filing office, with dates
This page's citations and their check dates

How this usually works in North Dakota

A summary of the tools North Dakota law and filing offices provide — general information, not instructions for your facts. Confirm current practice with the filing office and talk to an attorney about your situation.

1North Dakota's free public UCC search is linked on this page (CAPTCHA may apply).
2Chapter 35-35 (§35-35-03) is the statutory basis for refusing a nonconsensual common-law lien.
3The debtor-as-secured-party and transmitting-utility screens are uncodified office policy, not statute.
4For a lien already on file, §35-35-03(2) provides a no-fee Notice of Invalid Lien and §35-35-05 provides a show-cause petition (greater of $1,000 or actual damages).

What to expect

North Dakota's NCCL statute is real and works as a moderate refuse/notice/show-cause package; UCC fraud triggers that exist only in policy are not treated as statutory. Confirm the current fee on the state's official site — filing and search fees change and are not published here.

Sources: the LienGuardAI fifty-state survey and UCC search portal review (How we verify). No dollar fee amounts are published here — always confirm the current fee on the state's own site.